Heroes Of Kishtwar: How Local Volunteers Responded To Cloudburst Tragedy

When massive boulders, giant conifer trees from mountains came crashing down with mounds of slush, it flattened the yatra base camp at Chisoti in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar and reduces most of the village into rubble. 

The extent of death and destruction in the Kishtwar cloudburst tragedy that hit Machail Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage, is yet to be determined. Rescuers are still trying to find missing people who are believed to be buried under mountains of slush or swept away by pulverising force of floodwaters. 

Amid chaos and fear, a group of local volunteers rushed to the site of tragedy to save lives and extend a helping hand in a helpless situation. 

Ababeel Group is known for its emergency assistance and disaster relief efforts in Chenab Valley, the hilliest region of Jammu and Kashmir, prone to accidents, landslides, and land sinking. 

"When we received the sad news, we rushed there with 45 volunteers and nine ambulances. First, we evacuated the injured and shifted them to hospital and eventually joined the rescue operation" said Burhan Mir, a volunteer at Ababeel. 

Initially, getting there was not easy for local administration and volunteers as landslides had blocked narrow road connecting Padder Valley with Kishtwar. Rescuers say trans-shipment of injured became necessary because of landslides. "Thank God, despite the odds, we managed to evacuate many injured and shifted them to hospital," said a volunteer.

As part of first responders after the tragedy, local volunteers started digging and removing debris to retrieve bodies and find any survivors.  

According to Burhan, the group has been formed due to frequent incident landslides, fires, and accidents in Chenab Valley. "It's our job to rush whenever there is any natural disaster or accident. As you know Chenab Valley is accident prone area. We are always on the forefront to respond to such a situation" he said. 

The group has 250 volunteers connected through WhatsApp. "At any time, volunteers are just a message away. All our volunteers are available here today. Many yatris were also stranded, and we tried to help them as much as possible," said Burhan. 

Volunteer groups like Ababeel and Tariq memorial trust say their motive is Kidmat-e-Khalq - service to humanity - regardless of religion, cast and creed. "We are breaking stereotype of Hindu - Muslim divide here. We do it through our deeds, not just words," said Abrar, a volunteer.  

So far, more than 60 bodies have been recovered and over 80 are still missing. Besides hundreds of rescue workers, heavy machines including rock breakers and drills have been deployed to break massive boulders to recover bodies.